|TOP|The Chancellor Gordon Brown has commended the work of faith groups, saying they are “crucial” in the fight against poverty in the UK.

"There is more to do if we are to achieve our goal of ending child poverty in a generation,” said Mr Brown in the forward to a pamphlet the Christian Socialist Movement this week, reports Church Times.

Minister for Culture David Lammy MP, author of the pamphlet Making Poverty History at Home, argued: "While Government can play its part, the role of Christians and other faith groups, working alongside one another, will also be crucial in building a greater degree of understanding of one another in society."

Meanwhile Mr Brown continued in his foreword that the work of churches and other faith groups “was central to the success of the Make Poverty History campaign”.
“Their role will also be crucial in the campaign to alleviate poverty in this country,” said Mr Brown.

|QUOTE|He added: "Through a broad coalition bringing together faith communities we can create the political will to make change happen. We can work together to remove the blight of extreme poverty from our families and communities forever."

The Church Urban Fund, part of the Church of England, launched a new campaign last month to tackle poverty in Britain by raising awareness of the 11.4 million people living below the poverty line in the UK.

Challenging Poverty, the CUF’s first high profile campaign, encourages local communities to take action against poverty and consolidates the work already being undertaken by the CUF in the top 10 per cent of England’s poorest communities.